Ballot collecting

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Ballot collecting, also known as "ballot harvesting" or "ballot chasing", is the gathering and submitting of completed absentee or mail-in voter ballots by third-party individuals, volunteers or workers, rather than submission by voters themselves directly to ballot collection sites.^[1][2][3] It occurs in some areas of the U.S. where voting by mail is common, but some other states have laws restricting it.^[1] Proponents of ballot collection promote it as enfranchising those who live in remote areas or lack ready access to transportation, are incapacitated or in hospital or jail. Critics of ballot collection claim high probability for vote misappropriation or fraud.

After criticizing ballot harvesting as rife with fraud and cheating during the 2020 and 2022 elections in which they performed poorly, Republicans embraced it as what they called "ballot chasing" in preparation for the 2024 election.